The Greatest Danger

Be Afraid

"Patroclus," Achilles started, his voice notably low and serious in comparison to the cheerful tone it had been just seconds before. "Do not move."

Patroclus froze, his mind running wild with thoughts of the worst possible scenarios. Was it a thief?

Although Patroclus found it highly unlikely a thief would travel all the way to the top of their mountain in search of victims to steal from, it wasn't unheard of for the unsuspecting to get robbed and left for dead in isolated places where surely no help would come.

And what better victims than two puny teenage boys that happened to be on a mountain top where surely no one would hear them scream?

Whoever--or whatever--the danger was, they had chosen the wrong targets. Out the corner of his eye, Patroclus saw his companion reach for the knife he kept in the hilt of his belt.

Living up to his reputation, Achilles tossed his knife so swiftly that all Patroclus saw of it was the blur and the faint whistle it gave as it flew past his head. He heard the knife impale the tree behind him and saw Achilles' features relax, a proud grin displayed on his face. "There, the danger is gone now."

Patroclus slowly turned around, fully expecting to see a thief impaled by Achilles' knife, but instead he saw the only thing the knife had impaled was the poor olive tree that offered them shade.

His eyebrows scrunched upward in confusion as he stepped closer to the tree, realizing that the knife had, in fact, hit something else. An insect. A bumblebee, to be exact.

"A bee?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he turned towards Greek's finest. "The great danger...was a bee?"

"Yes," Achilles confirmed, still grinning, his perfect teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "But it shall trouble us no longer." Here he was, the greatest warrior in all of Greece, the boy who could slaughter dozens of men in mere seconds, beaming with pride over killing an insect.

Patroclus sighed, half in relief that they were in no real danger, but also because he had felt tricked to believe that they were.

"I did not find that amusing," he said, brushing past his partner. "You interrupted our game for this?" He asked, his face red with shame at the thought of him believing that the harmless bug was a dangerous thief.

Achilles's smile slowly slid off of his face. "What do you mean?"

"You know very well what I mean. That that," Patroclus said, uncrossing his arms to gesture towards the poor insect. "Is not considered a great danger."

Achilles blinked, registering what his companion had said. "Of course, it is no longer a great danger because I have slay-"

"No," Patroclus interrupted, shaking his head. "It is no more of a great danger now than it was when it was alive."

Achilles stared at Patroclus, studying him before shaking his head. "I am afraid you are wrong. Bees are vicious monsters, Patroclus. Their purpose is to destroy and they seek to do nothing but harm."

The banished prince tilted his head slightly, a look of disbelief resting upon his face. "I am wrong?" he asked incredulously. "The bees' purpose is to help the foliage. Why-"

"I used to think the same," Achilles interrupted, looking at Patroclus as if he was the one to be pitied for his misinformation on bees. "Then I was stung. Now I know that they are not a force to be reckoned with. Do you understand?"

Patroclus blankly stared, coming to terms with what he had just heard. "I think I understand now." He said at last, a grin slowly finding its way to his face.